The Storm
by elmccabe
Summary: James and the boys find Lily after a nasty nightmare
It was raining heavily amidst the dark sky outside the walls of Hogwarts. The thunder that night was as bright as the lighting. The warm dormitory was comforting and the light chatter from the boys as they walked up the steps was a nice buzz.

Sirius Black walked in first, slouched back, and let his dark curtain of hair fall in front of his eyes. He collapsed on his bed, full from dinner, when he noticed the slim figure sitting in the seat by the window.

Lily Evans was in James's Quidditch pullover (even though they weren't even dating), the golden Potter name shining on her back, and her pajama pants traveled far past her ankles. She was reading a muggle romance novel and her dark red hair was in a sloppy ponytail. She was leaning against the wall, her back to the rest of the room.

"Evans! To what do we owe the pleasure?" Sirius asked when the other boys stopped laughing at Peter's joke to notice they had a visitor.

When he got no reply, he got a little nervous. The rest of the boys ambled in and saw her too. James' hand jumped to his hair and he stood up a little straighter. Sirius was staring at her for a minute before he realized she was asleep.

"What's wrong with Evans?" Peter asked from behind Remus.

"Asleep." Sirius confirmed, "What do we do about her now?"

"The more important question is why is she in here? And why in Merlin's name is she in James' sweatshirt?" Remus smirked leaning against his bed.

"I gave it to her last week when we were doing rounds." James rolled his eyes before walking closer to his favorite redhead.

"Don't take the mickey out of Prongs for that." Peter said, "Take the mickey out of him because she's wearing it and they haven't even snogged."

"Wicked." Sirius snorted at his friend.

"I s'pose we should just put her in bed." Remus suggested.

Sirius moved to lift her up, giving James a pointed look when he did so.

"Sorry Prongs, but I actually care about Evans. Can't have you trying to feel her up when she is in a delicate state." Sirius declared.

James rolled his eyes, moving the sheets back on his own bed for her, and Sirius placed her there. Peter moved to cover her in the blankets and then they all just stared at her while she slept on, oblivious.

"It feels wrong to change into my pajamas with Evans right here." Peter said.

"It feels wrong that you call them pajamas." James whispered.

"Well what do you want me to call them?" Peter whispered back.

"In the name of Merlin be quiet. She's saying something in her sleep." Remus snapped.

Lily was tossing, tugging slightly on her own hair, and shivering. She looked cold and slightly sick. She was mumbling and she suddenly started to speak louder.

"Help," she said, "Help me. James, where are you? Help!"

The boys all looked at each other helplessly. If they woke her up, she might wonder why she was in James' bed. She might be embarrassed to have been found. But then again, what if she said something in her sleep she didn't want them to hear?

"I think I owe you ten galleons, Padfoot." Peter said, "She might actually like him."

"Told you so," Sirius whispered back.

"Alright leave Prongs alone," Remus said dragging Peter and Sirius away, "He can choose to deal with this however he wants."

The boys left, not happily or quietly, but left nonetheless. James didn't know what to do. Let Lily sleep and avoid a possibly awkward situation? Or wake her up to stop the nightmare? And why was she in their room?

James decided as Lily whimpered again he had to wake her up. He shook her shoulders softly as she cried his name out one more time. Her eyes fluttered slowly, and her red hair was spilling out of her ponytail, and she clutched at James when she realized she was awake.

"James." She gasped and he noticed the way her face flushed and how her hands were shaking slightly.

"Must have been some nightmare you were having." He said lightly, as she sat up and got her bearings.

Lily looked shocked and upset. She was shivering, despite her sweatshirt and the covers, and James instinctly reached over to rub his hands on her arms to warm her up. Goosebumps appeared all over her arm. Lily looked at him in the eyes.

"I dreamt you were gone. You left me. And oh Merlin, it was unbearable." Lily said fiercely, still staring at him.

James smiled, a real genuine smile, and said, "Ah, come on Evans, you know you can't get rid of me."

When the boys came in an hour later they were expecting many things. They were expecting to hear fighting, to see Lily ignoring James, or maybe to even see them snogging. But what they didn't expect was to find their best friend and the girl of his dreams asleep together, hands firmly clasped together. Their red and black hair horribly clashing together, all limbs entangled, and looking more peaceful than they had ever looked before. 


End file.
